Downhole electrical wet connector

Abstract

A downhole electrical wet connector comprising a plug which is slidingly inserted into a socket, the socket comprising a series of wiper seals spaced apart by separation zones, each zone being individually supplied with dielectric fluid from a separate reservoir. A retractable insert is arranged in the socket and displaced by the plug during connection. The fluid pressure in each zone is individually regulated relative to ambient wellbore pressure and the pressure in adjacent zones and optionally equalized to minimize loss of fluid.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This Application claims the priority to and the benefit of GB 1213164.5 filed Jul. 24, 2012, and entitled “Downhole Electrical Wet Connector”, the entirety of which application is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 897,481, filed May 20, 2013, entitled “Downhole Electrical Wet Connector”, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,028,264.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Disclosure[0003]This invention relates to wet connectors for downhole use, which is to say, releasable connectors for electrical conductors which can be made and unmade in the fluid environment of a wellbore, particularly but not exclusively a hydrocarbon well.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Wet connectors are used in hydrocarbon boreholes to releasably and remotely connect downhole equipment such as an electrical submersible pump (ESP), sensor or other tool to a conductor such as a power or si...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]It is the object of the present invention to provide a self-contained downhole wet connector which more effectively excludes contaminants from the contacts while allowing repeated connection and disconnection.

[0018]The invention overcomes this problem by providing the separation zone between each pair of adjacent wiper seals with a separate port and conduit external to the socket through which dielectric fluid is supplied to the socket from a reservoir. This allows dielectric fluid to flow to and from the separation zone during insertion of the plug, which makes it possible to regulate or equalize the pressure across each wiper seal so as to prevent the development of undesirable pressure gradients as the plug enters the socket. Preferably, each respective separation zone is supplied from a separate reservoir of dielectric fluid so that contaminants cannot migrate through the reservoir from one separation zone to another. The invention provides a compact and self-contained wet connector which can more effectively exclude contaminants with little or no loss of dielectric fluid.

Problems solved by technology

It is hypothesized that the continuing problem of flashover across multiple wiper seals, even in the presence of a dielectric fluid, may be due in part to a local pressure differential which arises across each wiper seal as the plug is inserted, causing a small volume of conductive fluids to flow across the wiper seal together with the plug.

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